Although we have to wait until next week to see Ohio State Football return to play, there was indeed some college football this weekend.
There weren’t any Top 25 matchups, but that didn’t mean there weren’t teams we will face in the future getting their seasons started. It was a chance for us to see how the new rules change the game as well, I’m sure the Buckeye coaching staff was paying attention to that as well.
If you’re like me — which I think you are if you’re reading this — you watched some football to quench your craving. This is what I learned about the couple games I watched during Week 0.
USC is good but …
Caleb Williams to Dorian Singer. Get used to it✌️
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 27, 2023
Thoughts
The Trojans look very much like Ohio State in 2021. They have a quarterback that is going to throw for a ton of yards, Caleb Williams, and a glut of wide receivers. Their running game is solid, but the biggest question mark is the defense once again. Buckeye fans have lived through the Alex Grinch experience, and that’s what USC is doing now. It will cost them a game or two and have them wondering, what if, when the season is completed.
Side note, Zachariah Branch is extremely talented and luckily the Buckeyes will only face him once in his collegiate career, we hope.
Notre Dame is good but …
COLZIE
4️⃣ touchdowns on the day for @sam_hartman10 #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/L9xdl2vKzZ
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 26, 2023
Thoughts
The Irish did exactly what good teams should do to Navy, make it look bad. Notre Dame finally has a quarterback in Sam Hartman, something it didn’t bring to Columbus last year. The Irish’s style of game is very similar to our rivals, which will give Ohio State a preview of what it’ll face at the end of the regular season. Notre Dame boasts a very good, to great, defense, but we really don’t know too much about how it’ll do against a modern offense. What I do know is September 23 in South Bend is going to be a one heck of a game.
Clock rules
New clock rules after week 0
7 game sample with average of 63.3 plays per game and average duration of 3 hours and 24 minutes
Last season (896 games), average of 68.7 plays per game and average duration of 3 hours and 27 minutes
— chris (@dadgumboxscores) August 27, 2023
Thoughts
It’s going to shut down scoring a bit, but not too much. Three to four touchdown leads will be almost insurmountable, as the clock won’t stop on first downs anymore, aside from under two minutes at the end of halves. There is going to be an adjustment period, but you have to expect that the Ohio State coaching staff will have the players ready for this.
Next year is going to Big Ten-centric from start to finish
one week away from the real thing 🕰️ pic.twitter.com/gPNDUvfE3x
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 26, 2023
Thoughts
Historically, the Big Ten doesn’t play many night games while opting for Noon as early afternoon time slots. With the West Coast teams coming, that is going to change. We are going to have Big Ten football on our screens almost all day on Saturday’s. I can’t wait.
Can Saturday get here now?
🔜🍿😤 pic.twitter.com/gZep50KvLv
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 27, 2023
Thoughts
It was fun to get some college football in our lives, but the real season starts this week. We will get another taste on Thursday evening, but Saturday it’s officially back. Ohio State on CBS will be different, but that’s something we all will get used to. The Buckeyes are almost back and I can’t wait to see this year’s team back on the gridiron.
Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.
